Laurence Olivier's HENRY V, Joss Whedon's 'MUCH ADO' and More Among The Old Globe's Summer 2015 Film Screenings

The Old Globe will throw open its doors for a 2015 Summer Season featuring Shakespeare on stage and in film, continuing its celebration of the Globe's 80th Anniversary and Balboa Park's Centennial. All of San Diego is invited to join us for a series of free Monday night films relating to Shakespeare through the eras to celebrate both the Balboa Park Centennial and the theatre's 80th Anniversary. Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Beth Accomando, author of the KPBS blog Cinema Junkie, will alternate introducing the films.

On June 29 at 8:15 p.m., the Globe will present Henry V, directed by Laurence Olivier in 1944, in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. It will be followed by Orson Welles's 1965 classic Chimes at Midnight on July 13 at 7:00 p.m. and Joss Whedon's 2012 Much Ado About Nothing on August 3 at 7:00 p.m. (both on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center). The series will conclude on August 24 at 8:00 p.m. with Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins's groundbreaking 1961 New York City riff on the Bard's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. All four screenings take place on Mondays, when the Globe's summer theatre productions are "dark" (their day off for the week).

Sir Laurence Olivier made his 1944 directorial debut and starred in Henry V, a sparklingly inventive, Oscar-nominated film adaptation of Shakespeare's epic history play. What begins as a performance in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre shifts in grand cinematic strokes to an epic narrative of King Henry V of England, who has grown from a dissolute youth to a powerful monarch. Proving his ability as a valiant soldier and skillful leader, he unites the English army and, against tremendous odds, puts his empire on the line in a war with the French. Olivier brings the Bard's heroic king to full-blooded life in this breathtaking and passionate cinematic masterpiece.

Widely considered the greatest film adaptation of Shakespeare ever made, Orson Welles's acclaimed 1965 masterpiece Chimes at Midnight finds Shakespeare's most famous supporting character, Sir John Falstaff, taking center stage. Drawing heavily on Henry IV and other histories by the Bard, the film follows the shifting relationship between Prince Hal and his drunken, obese, and altogether charming companion Falstaff (played by Welles himself). As Hal faces his destiny as England's future leader, he must choose between loyalty to his friend and to his father, King Henry IV. Confronted with a world not as merry and secure as it once was, Falstaff must come to terms with this new chapter of his life and forge ahead -- or risk getting left behind by a nation in change. Welles's enduring gem, rarely seen on the big screen, delves deep inside one of Shakespeare's most intriguing players to shine a light on one man's joys, struggles, and triumphs.

In the 2012 modern retelling of Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing, Benedick, an arrogant and confirmed bachelor, and Beatrice, his favorite sparring partner, hide their infatuation beneath witty barbs. Meanwhile, young love blossoms as Hero and Claudio fall in love and race to the altar. But when the jealous, spiteful Don John vows to destroy the wedding, Benedick and Beatrice must find common ground to make things right again. Director Joss Whedon melds his trademark wit and visual splendor with the Bard's passionate poetry to bring this classic comedy to a whole new generation. Entertainment Weekly exclaimed, "There's something both daring and delightfully daffy about Whedon's modern riff on one of the Bard's most beloved comedies," and Rolling Stone cheered, "Whedon has crafted an irresistible blend of mirth and malice."

A riff on the Bard's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins in 1961, explodes off the screen in one of the greatest movie musicals ever made. In 1950s New York City, two rival gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, struggle for dominance on the streets of their West End neighborhood. When two young teens meet at a dance and cross the battle lines, their love blossoms and offers them a way out of the tumultuous world around them. But as the hatred between the gangs escalates, this star-crossed romance threatens to destroy them all. Featuring Leonard Bernstein's iconic score and Jerome Robbins's exuberant choreography, West Side Story won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Admission is free, in celebration of the Globe's 80th Anniversary and Balboa Park's Centennial. Reservations are recommended and can be made only by calling (619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623). Reservations are available now to Old Globe season subscribers. Tickets will become available to the general public on May 26 at 12 noon. Seating is by general admission. For more information, visit www.theoldglobe.org/events/Summer_films_2015.aspx.

The 2015 Summer Season begins as visionary director Rebecca Taichman, whose time-traveling Time and the Conways fascinated audiences last April, kicks off the 2015 Shakespeare Festival with the delightful and romantic Twelfth Night. This stunning production will run in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre June 21 - July 26. Everything we love about Shakespeare -- romance, music, poetry, laughter, swordplay, great characters, and even a girl in pants! -- is in Twelfth Night, one of the Bard's true comic masterpieces. Shipwrecked and alone in foreign Illyria, young Viola masquerades as a boy and becomes the go-between for the lovesick Duke Orsino and the beautiful Countess Olivia. Soon Viola finds herself in the middle of a topsy-turvy love triangle with lunacy on every side.

2014 Tony Award winner for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and former Old Globe Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak returns to direct the spectacular musical classic Kiss Me, Kate, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Sam and Bella Spewack, and choreography by Peggy Hickey, in association with Hartford Stage. One of the greatest romantic musical comedies of all time, it will run July 1 - August 2 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Cole Porter's witty and high-spirited songs will transport you into the wings as a touring company gets ready to open a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew, starring a divorced couple whose offstage battles threaten to bring down the curtain. This beloved classic features show-stopping dance numbers, Shakespeare-quoting mobsters, and a knockout score including "Another Op'nin', Another Show," "So In Love," and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare." Get ready for a sizzling summer evening that's simply "Too Darn Hot"!

Seven-time Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis, who has three shows on Broadway this season, will make his Old Globe and Shakespeare Festival directorial debut with Shakespeare's hilarious The Comedy of Errors. Laughter will ring out under the stars August 16 - September 20 as Shakespeare's hilarious tale of mistaken identity takes the outdoor stage. A young man and his servant arrive in town, unaware that each of them has a separated-at-birth identical twin already there. This can't end well-or maybe it can, but not before the unexpected double vision leads to furious wives, confused mistresses, scandalized family members, and general mayhem.

Rounding out the season is the West Coast premiere of Ken Ludwig's comedy Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. This wildly inventive adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles, by one of America's great comic playwrights, plays July 24 - August 23 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Ken Ludwig (Lend Me a Tenor, Crazy for You) brings to life literature's most famous detective-the inimitable Sherlock Holmes. Five fearless actors conjure the world of Victorian England as Holmes and Watson take on one of the most diabolical cases of their career. This witty and clever romp delivers chills, laughter, and a great evening of theatre.

"In 2015, San Diego marks the centennial of the Panama-California Exposition and the 80th birthday of The Old Globe. Both anniversaries celebrate the vibrancy of Balboa Park, a place that defines this city as a cultural force to be reckoned with nationwide, and both deserve great festivities. The Globe has put together a summer season of laughter, fun, and the most vivid theatricality we could muster," said Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "Outdoors we will present two of Shakespeare's most crowd-pleasing plays, in productions by American visionaries. Indoors we'll welcome one of our closest friends to reimagine a classic musical with a Shakespeare connection of its own, and we'll present the West Coast premiere of a new stage adaptation of a beloved Sherlock Holmes mystery. Plus, as a special double-anniversary gift to San Diego, we're going to throw our doors open for free screenings of four of the best Shakespeare films ever made. It's going to be a summer-long party on our campus, and a demonstration of all the wonders the Globe has brought our city for eight decades."

SEASON SUBSCRIPTIONS offer substantial savings with special subscriber benefits. Subscriptions can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE [234-5623], or by visiting the box office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Subscriptions to the Globe's 2015 Summer Season range from $97 to $346. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and younger, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. The Balboa Park valet is also available during performances ($12), located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. For directions and up-to-date information, visit www.TheOldGlobe.org/Directions.

PLEASE NOTE: To look up online or GPS directions to The Old Globe, do not use the Delivery Address above. There is only a 10-minute zone at that physical address. For GPS users, click here for the map coordinates, and here for written directions to The Old Globe and nearby parking in Balboa Park.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 75 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 14 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affair, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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